1. On October 11, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with Ranking Member Jack Reed of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, who was in the Republic of Korea on a visit. In their meeting, the Minister and the Senator exchanged views on matters of mutual concern, including the ROK-US alliance as well as nuclear and other issues of North Korea.

2. Minister Kang expressed pleasure over the meeting with Senator Reed, saying that it offered an opportunity to continue close communication with members of the US Congress after her meetings with its leading figures during her visit to Washington in the wake of the UN General Assembly session in September. She extended appreciation to the US Congress for its strong support for the ROK people and its alliance with the US.

° In addition, the Minister pointed out that amid continued reckless provocations by North Korea, the ROK and the US should deter such provocations to the extent possible with ironclad combined defense posture and should muster wisdom to achieve a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and to manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula in stable manner. She asked for continued support of the US Congress in that regard.

3. Senator Reed, calling his visit to the ROK an opportunity to reaffirm close ROK-US coordination, expressed deep confidence in the ROK-US alliance. Describing North Korea’s ever-advancing nuclear and missile programs as a common, present threat, he stressed that it is more important than ever that the ROK and the US work together.

° The Congressman noted that as it is a shared goal of the ROK and the US to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue diplomatically, dialogue on North Korean issues should be revived in any form. He added that the US Congress, on its part, will actively seek to play a role in ROK-US joint responses to the North Korean nuclear issue.

4. The meeting between the Minister and Senator Reed, an influential member of the US Congress who has paid keen attention to and worked actively on Korean Peninsula issues, is seen to have served as an opportunity to win strong support from the US Congress for the ROK-US alliance and to reaffirm the ROK-US coordination on the North Korean nuclear issue.


* unofficial translation